We're tasked by the state with responding to wildfires. We study weather patterns, drought cycles and the status of vegetation across the state to predict when and where dangerous fire conditions may occur. Should a wildfire ignite, we maintain a statewide network of strategically-placed teams of firefighters and equipment so that we're able to respond quickly when the call comes.

Rural fire departments respond to 80 percent of wildfires in Texas - and they do it with shoestring budgets and almost entirely with volunteers. We help fire departments pay for needed training and equipment and help Texans learn how to prevent, prepare for and protect against wildfire.

With roughly 94 percent of forestland in Texas privately owned, the trees, forests—and the benefits they provide - rests in the hands of thousands of Texans. While keeping the entire state's forested landscape in mind, we inform and educate landowners on sustainable land management practices.

We work with communities to plant, care for and conserve trees. We empower local volunteers to make a positive impact in their communities. We are here to assist when disaster strikes with damage assessments, information, technical assistance and long-term recovery.

We analyze and monitor forests, landscapes and communities for susceptibility to health and wildfire risks. We take action with education, information, diagnosis and treatment. We know that any information we have is more powerful when we give it to you.

We can help quench your thirst for learning. Explore links to identify trees using their leaves and branches, create your own tree trails and experience Texas history from the perspective of a witness tree. Share activities in the classroom to open up a world of conservation for new generations.

We're tasked by the state with responding to wildfires. We study weather patterns, drought cycles and the status of vegetation across the state to predict when and where dangerous fire conditions may occur. Should a wildfire ignite, we maintain a statewide network of strategically-placed teams of firefighters and equipment so that we're able to respond quickly when the call comes.

Rural fire departments respond to 80 percent of the wildfires in Texas - and they do it with shoestring budgets and a staff often made up almost entirely of volunteers. Sometimes they need a little help. Our programs help fire departments pay for needed training and equipment. We also help communities and property owners learn to prevent, prepare for and protect against wildfire.

With roughly 94 percent of forestland in Texas privately owned, the trees, forests—and the benefits they provide - rests in the hands of thousands of Texans. While keeping the entire state's forested landscape in mind, we inform and educate landowners on sustainable land management practices.

We work with communities to plant, care for and conserve trees where people live, work and play. We foster appreciation and stewardship of urban forests empowering local volunteers to make a positive impact in their communities. We are here to assist when disaster strikes. From damage assessment, to information and technical assistance, to long-term recovery - we help property owners and communities thrive.

Our experts research, analyze and carefully monitor forests, landscapes and communities for susceptibility to health and wildfire risks. We take action with education, information, diagnosis and treatment. We know that any information or knowledge we have is more powerful when we give it to you. As a state agency, our responsibility is share what we know.

If you have an unquenchable thirst for learning, we offer programs and information that you may either explore independently or share with a group. Learn about trees, forests, the benefits they provide and the challenges they face. Read stories about trees that are living witness to Texas history. Locate champion trees across the state. And bring activities into the classroom to open a world of conservation to a new generation.

LANDOWNER ASSISTANCE: STEWARDSHIP

Giving Texas Landowners a Hand

Long-term care of private land is critically
important to Texas. Sound management practices increase land productivity and
enhance ecosystem services provided by forests. These critical
benefits include clean air and water, improved wildlife habitat and additional
opportunities for quality outdoor recreation.

Through the Forest Stewardship Program, Texas
A&M Forest Service promotes land stewardship to landowners all over
Texas—from the Pineywoods of East Texas to the West Texas Panhandle. As a
landowner, professional assistance is tailored to your individual needs.

A
written plan for your property is the foundation of good land stewardship. TFS foresters are available to help you develop a written
10-year course of action, outlining step-by-step measures that will enable you
to meet the goals and objectives established for your property.

East
Texas

As a private landowner in East Texas, you perhaps have the most to
gain from the Forest Stewardship Program— and the most to lose if good land and
timber management practices are not followed.

While this region is
heavily forested, 2.8 million acres of timberlands are under stocked.
Similarly, on private family forestland, only 1 out of every 7 acres that is
harvested is replanted. Technical assistance is readily available to help you
get the most from your land. Call your local TFS office, seek advice and consultation from a professional forester, or view a list of land management vendors for help.

Forest stewardship will pay dividends not only to you and the forest
products industry, but to the overall environmental health of the region as
well.

Central
Texas

The Central Texas Hill Country has been named one of
the world's "Last Great Places." Natural resources in this region are
threatened by poor land management, fire exclusion, invasive species, oak wilt
and rapid population growth.

As a Texas landowner, you have the
ability to conserve Central Texas trees and natural resources for future
generations. TFS is available to help address your interests in trees,
wildlife, recreation, water, as well as concerns about drought, wildfire,
forest health and diseases such as oak wilt. Call your local TFS office, find a Central Texas Professional Land Management Service Provider, or view a list of Central Texas Vendors that provide land management services for more information.

West
Texas

Every year,
approximately 535 million tons of West Texas land literally blows away. Just
one mile of windbreak trees can keep up to 2,800 tons of valuable soil on
site. Windbreaks are essential in protecting farmland, livestock,
homesteads and roadways from the harsh weather of the High Plains. They also
provide crucial habitat for wildlife and enhance the value of your
property.

TFS
foresters can provide invaluable assistance in designing a plan that
fits your needs, covering topics such as proper site preparation, tree
selection, placement and maintenance of windbreaks.

+ Landowner Plans

A well-managed
forest benefits not only your interests, but the environment as well. These
lands provide for diverse wildlife, visual appeal, recreational enjoyment,
clean water and increased forest productivity.

A
written management plan is the foundation of forest stewardship and developing
healthy and productive forestland. These plans enable you as the landowner
to make informed decisions concerning the future of your property.

Professional foresters with TFS and other
organizations (PDF, 66KB) are ready and willing to provide assistance in
creating these plans. At your request, a professional forester will visit with
you, tour your property and implement the following steps to develop your
plan:

Identify your goals and objectives for the
property

Describe the current land condition as well as the future
desired land condition

Produce maps of the property delineating
different forest, vegetation and soil types; topography; water resources; and
other areas of interest

Make management recommendations in support of
your goals and objectives

Generate a management activity schedule
covering at least the next 10 years

Management
plans generally include additional information on a wide variety of
forest-related topics, including how to monitor your property for insects and
disease, wildfire risk and wildlife.

While these plans are written to cover a 10
year period, they are designed to be very flexible based on the nature of the
resource. Revisions may be warranted due to changes in your objectives, market
conditions, management techniques or through uncontrollable circumstances such
as a forest fire. Your plan can easily be revised in the future by contacting
a professional forester.

+ Awards

As a landowner, you now
have an opportunity to brag about the good things you are doing on your
property. The Certified Forest Steward and the Lone Star Land Steward Awards
recognize landowners who manage their property with conservation and
stewardship as guiding principles. Award recipients may follow non-regulatory
Best Management Practices, practice sustainable forestry,
install food plots and implement other wildlife conservation practices.

Certified Forest Steward Award

The
Texas Forest Stewardship Program recognizes good stewards of the land with
the Certified Forest Steward award. This award is presented to any Texas
landowner that owns at least 10 acres, has a written management plan and
implements aspects of that plan. Recipients receive a metal sign for their
property and a certificate signed by the State Forester.

The Lone Star Land Steward Award program recognizes and honors private
landowners for their accomplishments in habitat management and wildlife
conservation. Any landowner may be nominated; however, award recipients are
selected by a review panel. Winners receive an invitation to the annual awards
reception hosted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Some of the past Lone
Star Land Steward Award winners have also been Certified Forest Stewards.

Financial assistance programs are sometimes
available for landowners to help offset costs of implementing conservation
practices that benefit the environment. Practices can include tree
establishment, wildlife habitat improvement, and even insect, disease and
invasive species management. Contact your local TFS office for current programs that may apply. A
few of these programs are described below.

The Environmental
Quality Incentives Program is a voluntary program that provides financial and
technical assistance to agricultural producers through contracts up to a
maximum term of ten years in length. These contracts provide financial
assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices that address
natural resource concerns and for opportunities to improve soil, water,
plant, animal, air and related resources on agricultural land and
non-industrial private forestland. In addition, a purpose of EQIP is to help
producers meet federal, state, tribal and local environmental
regulations.

The
Partners Program provides technical and financial assistance to private
landowners and tribes to help meet the habitat needs of migratory birds and
rare, declining or protected plants and animals. Staff are available to
assist private landowners with developing habitat improvement projects
associated with imperiled ecosystems such as longleaf pine, bottomland
hardwood, native prairies and riparian areas.

The Texas Landowner Incentive Program is
designed to meet the needs of private, non-federal landowners wishing to enact
conservation practices on their land for the benefit of healthy, terrestrial
and aquatic ecosystems. LIP focuses on projects aimed at enhancing habitat
for migratory birds and species of greatest conservation need throughout the
state. Projects that reduce soil erosion, restore and enhance native
vegetation and restore proper functioning of rivers and creeks are
targeted.

The Texas Longleaf
Conservation Assistance Program provides both financial and technical
assistance to eligible landowners for the establishment, enhancement and
management of Longleaf Pine. For more information regarding eligibility and how
to apply click here.

Southern Pine Beetle Prevention
Program, Texas A&M Forest Service

The
Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program provides financial assistance funds
for the first thinning of high hazard stands of pine pulpwood within 30
counties of East Texas. For questions of eligibility, contact your local TFS
office.

Oak Wilt
Suppression Project, Texas A&M Forest Service

The
Texas Oak Wilt Suppression Project provides financial
assistance to Central Texas landowners affected by oak wilt, a devastating
disease of red oaks and live oaks caused by the fungus Ceratocystis
fagaceurum. Assistance, not to exceed 40 percent of the actual cost, is
available to install a trench to halt the spread of expanding oak wilt
centers and/or to remove oak wilt-infected red oaks. To apply or request
assistance, contact your local TFS office.

The Joint Chief's Landscape Restoration
Partnership leverages resources from USDA Forest Service, Natural Resources
Conservation Service, National Wild Turkey Federation and Texas A&M Forest
Service to reduce the wildfire threat and improve forest health and water
quality on the Sam Houston National Forest and surrounding non-industrial
private forests. For more information or to apply for assistance click here.

The Neches River and Cypress Basin Watershed
Restoration Program leverages resources from US Fish and Wildlife Service and
Texas A&M Forest Service. The program provides financial assistance to
landowners utilizing prescribed fire for ecological improvement to the Neches
River and Cypress Basin watersheds. This program benefits the public and
natural resources through improving water quality and quantity, controlling
invasive species, and enhancing wildlife habitat. Eligible projects include
private property in the Neches River and Cypress Basin Watersheds. Priority
will be given to prescribed burn treatments that promote native ecosystem
restoration, are in priority watershed protection zones and near public land.
Grant recipients will be reimbursed actual per acre costs associated with
conducting the prescribed burn, not to exceed the maximum reimbursement rate
of $22.50 per acre with a total limit of 800 acres per recipient.

Protect Texas land and forests from invasive insects and
disease. Obtain your holiday firewood from local sources or a trusted vendor
close to home. Diseased firewood may carry invasive pests and threaten our
native trees and forests.

Reducing vegetation by thinning, trimming trees and removing
ladder fuels, can decrease the spread and intensity of wildfire. It can also increase
the chances for firefighters to control the fire. Learn more about different
types of fuels treatments for fire management.

With positive DNA tests on collected larvae, we confirm the deadly emerald ash borer to be present in Tarrant County. There is no known stop to this epidemic, but we can help communities minimize loss.

NEWSROOM

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Oak wilt is one of the most destructive tree diseases in the United States, and it has been known to kill oak trees in Central Texas at epidemic proportions. Texas A&M Forest Service urges Texans, hunters in particular, to take preventative measures and be cautious when collecting and pu

Some 200 firefighters in 50 engines from 47 Texas fire departments in 23 counties will head to California to help fight three major wildfires that have taken at least 29 lives, destroyed more than 6,700 structures and prompted evacuations for about 250,000 Californians.
“When the call came into Texas this summer

Protect Texas land and forests from invasive insects and
disease. Obtain your holiday firewood from local sources or a trusted vendor
close to home. Diseased firewood may carry invasive pests and threaten our
native trees and forests.

Reducing vegetation by thinning, trimming trees and removing
ladder fuels, can decrease the spread and intensity of wildfire. It can also increase
the chances for firefighters to control the fire. Learn more about different
types of fuels treatments for fire management.

With positive DNA tests on collected larvae, we confirm the deadly emerald ash borer to be present in Tarrant County. There is no known stop to this epidemic, but we can help communities minimize loss.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Oak wilt is one of the most destructive tree diseases in the United States, and it has been known to kill oak trees in Central Texas at epidemic proportions. Texas A&M Forest Service urges Texans, hunters in particular, to take preventative measures and be cautious when collecting and pu

Some 200 firefighters in 50 engines from 47 Texas fire departments in 23 counties will head to California to help fight three major wildfires that have taken at least 29 lives, destroyed more than 6,700 structures and prompted evacuations for about 250,000 Californians.
“When the call came into Texas this summer

We have been protecting and sustaining
forests, trees and related natural
resources since 1915. We offer programs
and services to help you make the most
of your land for generations to come.
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